10 Best Toners for Every Skin Care Need

• Best gentle toner: Avène Eau Thermale Gentle Toning Lotion
• Best toner for sensitive skin: Renée Rouleau Elderberry Soothing Toner
• Best toner for dry skin: Lancôme Tonique Confort
• Best toner for oily skin: Pixi Glow Tonic
• Best drugstore toner: Thayers Rose Petal Facial Toner
• Best splurge toner: Whamisa Organic Flowers Toner Deep Rich
• Best natural toner: Savor Beauty Hydrating Toning Mist
• Best multitasking toner: Fenty Skin Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum
• Best toner for acne-prone skin: Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner
• Best budget toner: Vichy Pureté Thermale Perfecting Toner

When it comes to your daily skin care routine, you probably have your main steps down: cleanser, serum, moisturizer, and SPF. What you may be missing out on, though, is an extra cleansing, pH-balancing toner.

However, toners have historically gotten a bad rap for one specific ingredient: alcohol.

“Alcohol is the reason that toners have gotten a bad reputation through the years,” says Dr. Corey L. Hartman, a board certified dermatologist and the founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology in Birmingham, Alabama. “Alcohol is a harsh astringent that causes excessive dryness and triggers rebound oil production. If it makes your skin feel too tight after use, then move on to another product.”

If you steer clear of toners formulated with alcohol, you’re off to a great start. But there are a few other things you should know before adding a toner to your skin care regimen.

Toners can act as an integral part of your skin care routine. They help your skin maintain a balanced pH.

Pollution, oil production, and makeup can all shift your skin’s natural pH (roughly 5.5), adjusting the skin’s moisture levels and sometimes even leading to long-term environmental damages. Toners mimic your skin’s natural pH to rebalance it for a healthy finish.

Beyond this, toners can help get rid of impurities left behind after your first cleanse for a brighter, more even complexion.

“Toner helps remove any trace amounts of dirt, oil, or impurities from the skin that could lead to clogged pores and breakouts,” Hartman says.

A good place to start when selecting your toner is determining your skin type. Common skin types include:

• dry
• oily
• combination
• normal
• sensitive

Once you’ve figured this out, you can start narrowing down exactly what your skin needs and what to look for in formulas.

Dry skin

Hartman notes that people with dry skin should never use a toner with alcohol due to its harsh astringent qualities that cause excessive dryness. Instead, those with dry skin should look for hydrating ingredients, such as:

• glycerin
• hyaluronic acid
• rose water
• aloe

“These ingredients add moisture to the skin while balancing the skin’s tone,” he explains.

Oily skin

If you have oily skin, Hartman says ingredients like hydroxy acids or sulfur can help clear pores, reduce oil production, and chemically exfoliate.

Hydroxy acids include alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), which are both skin exfoliants that can tackle inflammation, wrinkles, or dullness by removing dead skin cells and unclogging pores.

For people with skin that’s easily irritated, Hartman points to calming ingredients, such as niacinamide, aloe vera, and vitamin C “to reduce inflammation and ensure that the toner doesn’t dry the skin out too much.”

Once you’ve nailed down your skin goals and the ingredients that can help you achieve those goals, you’ll want to consider your budget. Luckily, there’s something for every skin care need at a variety of price points.

We spoke with industry pros, ranging from beauty editors to dermatologists, to get their professional take on the best toners out there for all skin types.

We also paid attention to:

• price
• user ratings
• reviews

Learn more about how we select products.

Pricing guide

• $ = under $15
• $$ = $15–$30
• $$$ = over $30

Best gentle toner

Avène Eau Thermale Gentle Toning Lotion

• Price: $$
• Best for: dry or sensitive skin
• Key ingredients: natural silicates, thermal spring water

This bi-phase toning lotion uses two separate formula compositions (natural silicates and spring water) to gently reset the skin’s pH after cleansing and help your complexion appear even and radiant.

The toner does it all without irritating the skin. In fact, it actively soothes the skin, so it feels supple and soft and appears more even and glowing.

It also helps protect your skin from environmental factors, such as pollution and sun exposure, making it a great addition to your morning skin care routine.

Best toner for sensitive skin

Renée Rouleau Elderberry Soothing Toner

• Price: $$$
• Best for: sensitive skin
• Key ingredients: elderberry fruit extract, sodium PCA

Packed with all kinds of good-for-you ingredients, such as elderberry fruit extract, sodium PCA (a naturally occurring hydrator), and biosaccharide gum-1 (an all-natural protectant from pollution and ultraviolet rays), this formula helps calm and refresh the skin.

Sodium PCA is a water-binding agent that attracts and retains moisture in the skin. Meanwhile, the biosaccharide gum-1 hydrates by keeping water between the cells.

The elderberry fruit extract is packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that help skin look plump and healthy.

Best toner for dry skin

Lancôme Tonique Confort

• Price: $$$
• Best for: dry skin
• Key ingredients: acacia honey, sweet almond oil, hyaluronic acid

Any sort of lotion-like toner is great for dry skin, but this one is extra-hydrating thanks to key ingredients like honey, sweet almond oil, and hyaluronic acid. While the hyaluronic acid and oil deliver extra moisture, the honey calms any irritation.

When used consistently, you can expect to see a more even skin tone and a brighter complexion.

Best toner for oily skin

Pixi Glow Tonic

• Price: $$
• Best for: oily skin
• Key ingredients: glycolic acid, aloe vera, ginseng

Thanks to glycolic acid (an AHA that exfoliates the skin for a brighter, more even skin tone) this pick from Pixi exfoliates and purifies the skin to help diminish breakouts and retain its moisture barrier.

The ginseng offers a rejuvenating boost, while the aloe soothes and hydrates to help avoid any unwanted irritation.

All in all, it’s a well-balanced formula that will help leave your skin looking radiant with regular use.

Best drugstore toner

Thayers Rose Petal Facial Toner

• Price: $
• Best for: oily, sensitive, or dry skin
• Key ingredients: rose water, witch hazel, aloe vera

Dubbed as a classic by beauty editors and customers, this witch hazel toner has been an affordable favorite for years. The toner has over 73,000 Amazon reviews, and users swear by this toner’s gentle yet effective formula.

Witch hazel has lots of benefits, including soothing skin while also fighting acne, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. It also acts as an astringent to help tighten the appearance of pores.

Best splurge toner

Whamisa Organic Flowers Toner Deep Rich

• Price: $$$
• Best for: dry, sensitive, or normal skin
• Key ingredients: aloe vera, wild-grown artemisia, oat kernel extract, Damask rose flower oil

Korean beauty and skin care brands have risen in popularity in the United States over the past few years, and this toner from Whamisa is a great example of why they’re so popular.

Made with 97.4 percent organic ingredients, such as aloe vera, the toner helps skin appear revitalized with a brighter, plumper effect.

The toner boasts a fun, bouncy texture, which is unlike any other toner included on this list.

Best natural toner

Savor Beauty Hydrating Toning Mist

• Price: $$$
• Best for: oily, acne-prone, or combination skin
• Key ingredients: lavender, tea tree, rose, neroli blossom, lemongrass

This toner is made with all-natural ingredients. Lemongrass and tea tree oils help fight breakouts, and neroli blossom helps balance the skin’s sebum. To top it off, soothing lavender helps reduce redness.

Unlike the other toners on this list, this product features a spray applicator, making it great for a rejuvenating midday pick-me-up. You can even spritz it on after you apply makeup to set it.

Best multitasking toner

Fenty Skin Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum

• Price: $$
• Best for: all skin types
• Key ingredients: niacinamide, cactus flower, green tea

This toner-serum combination is the ultimate two-in-one. Made by Fenty Skin (Rihanna’s skin care brand), this toner works to improve the appearance of dark spots and pores with ingredients like niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3).

The toner also aims to reduce redness while hydrating and defending the skin against environmental factors.

“It’s a new cult favorite because it combines a toner and a serum to deliver a brightening and toning effect without stripping away too much oil,” Hartman says.

Best toner for acne-prone skin

Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner

• Price: $$
• Best for: combination, oily, or acne-prone skin
• Key ingredients: glycolic acid, grapefruit, aloe vera

A toner with an AHA exfoliant, like glycolic acid, is a must-have for those who experience regular breakouts.

Similar to the Pixi Glow Tonic, this favorite from Mario Badescu balances the purifying benefits of glycolic acid with the soothing abilities of aloe vera. Its exfoliating capabilities help unclog pores for a smoother, brighter, more even complexion.

Best budget toner

Vichy Pureté Thermale Perfecting Toner

• Price: $$
• Best for: all skin types
• Key ingredients: glycerin, volcanic water

Another Hartman recommendation, this is “an affordable, gentle toner that removes all the residue and none of the essential oil.”

Similar to the Avène toner, this gentle pick leaves skin glowing and soft to the touch.

The key ingredient, volcanic water, is packed with 15 minerals, such as bicarbonates, chloride, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. These ingredients work together to strengthen the skin’s barrier for protection against external factors, like the sun, pollutants, and weather, while also rebalancing the skin’s natural pH.

The toner step of your skin care routine should always come immediately after cleansing and before applying serum or moisturizer.

If your skin can tolerate it, Hartman says you can use a toner every day. If you have sensitive or dry skin, though, you might want to incorporate it just two or three times per week.

When applying, Hartman recommends simply pouring the liquid into a clean, dry hand and patting it all around your face. Folks often opt for applying the formula using a cotton pad, but a lot of liquid is soaked up this way, so you actually waste most of the product.

Are toners good for your face?

Yes! A good toner can help remove any remaining dirt after washing your face. It can also help balance your skin’s pH.

However, be sure to choose one that’s alcohol-free. Instead, look for other beneficial ingredients like hydrating hyaluronic acid, exfoliating AHAs and BHAs, or anti-inflammatory witch hazel.

Which toner is best for men?

Rather than choosing a toner based on gender, look for one that’s right for your skin type, whether that’s oily, dry, sensitive, or combination.

Is rose water a toner?

Yes, rose water is a natural toner. It’s moisturizing and can help soothe skin.

When you figure out what your skin type is, you can choose a toner that helps you achieve your skin care goals —whether it’s hydration, pore cleansing, or redness reduction. Regardless of your skin type, avoid toners that contain alcohol.

By adding a toner to your routine, you can brighten and even your skin and ensure your skin’s pH remains roughly in its natural state. Seems like a must-have to us!

Emily Rekstis is a New York City-based beauty and lifestyle writer who writes for many publications, including Greatist, Racked, and Self. If she’s not writing at her computer, you can probably find her watching a mob movie, eating a burger, or reading an NYC history book. See more of her work on her website, or follow her on Twitter.